H.O. Wolding will deliver 1,100 wreaths to honor veterans
H.O. Wolding, an Amherst-based trucking company, will donate a truck, fuel and staff hours to deliver more than 1,000 wreaths as a volunteer participant to support the Wreaths Across America initiative, which honors deceased veterans by placing wreaths on their graves, during a ceremony Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Cemetery in King.
Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization that coordinates the services of volunteer trucking companies and other volunteers and that raises funds to support the laying of wreaths on veteran’s graves at more than 1,100 locations. The largest coverage of wreaths is at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., where the organization first met its goal in 2014 to lay a wreath on every single headstone in the cemetery.
The laying of wreaths at the Central Wisconsin Veterans Cemetery will start at 11 a.m. Saturday in coordination with similar wreath laying ceremonies at other locations across the country.
This is the second time in the past three years that H.O. Wolding has volunteered as a participant in Wreaths Across America.
The H.O. Wolding truck will be driven by Ricky Shatraw, a driver with the company and a decorated veteran with more than 20 years of service with the U.S. Army, most of which was spent as a medical specialist and non-commissioned officer. Shatraw’s honors include receiving an Army Commendation Medal and an Army Achievement Medal.
“We were fortunate enough to be one of the carriers that hauled wreaths to Arlington two years ago, and now we’re equally excited to have the chance to deliver wreaths to two Wisconsin cemeteries in honoring our country’s deceased veterans,” said Marc Wolding, director of operations for H.O. Wolding.
Last year, 168 companies delivered more than 300 loads of wreaths to locations across the U.S., and a total of approximately 901,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves.
For more information, contact Raymond McSherry, location coordinator, at 715-572-4922.